Absentee voting turnout way up for midterm elections: ‘There is no comparison’

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Absentee voters are turning out in droves through mail-in ballots and in-person votes, so much so, that the registrar in Chesterfield County is hoping 20 more people will come forward and offer to work the election.

The pair face off in what, so far, appears to be one of the most energized midterm elections ever in the 7th Congressional District.

"Compared to other mid-term elections there is no comparison," the General Registrar and Director of Elections in Chesterfield County, Constance Tyler, said.

The 7th district encompasses a large part of Western Chesterfield, and Tyler said absentee turnout, so far, is unusually high.

Constance Tyler

"An average midterm election is like 4400 voters, and this mid-term we're already over 9500," Tyler said.

That means absentee turnout thus far in Chesterfield is more than twice the midterm election average, and despite their political differences, voters we talked to seem to have the same motivation for casting their ballots.